WASHINGTON, The U.S. Department of Defense on Friday declined to comment on suspected work by North Korea to restore a nuclear test site it voluntarily shut down nearly four years ago.
Instead, it reaffirmed the U.S.’ commitment to the defense of its allies, including South Korea.
“Regarding the Punggye-Ri site, we won’t speak to matters of intelligence or commercial imagery analysis,” a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency.
“However, we have been very clear on the threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear and missile programs, and our commitment to the defense of the ROK, Japan, and the U.S. homeland, and our commitment to uphold regional peace and stability,” the spokesperson added, asking not to be identified.
The Punggye-Ri site is North Korea’s main nuclear test site where six nuclear tests were conducted between 2006 and 2017.
Pyongyang had purportedly demolished the site in May 2018 in a show of its willingness to denuclearize amid U.S.-North Korea dialogue.
Informed sources in Seoul earlier said the North appeared to be working to restore underground tunnels at the Punggye-Ri site.
North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since late 2017, but said in January that it may consider restarting “all temporarily-suspended activities.”
The U.S. on Thursday said the North’s two recent missile launches, staged Feb. 27 and last Saturday, had involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.
Source: Yonhap News Agency